You'd think people would notice a wallaby hopping around Tucson. It's not like wallabies are a dime a dozen here.
From the ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV Thursday, February 15, 1968:
Oh, Where Can That Wallaby Be?
Willy the Wallaby is missing
Willy is a small kangaroo who is participating in the University of Arizona’s Ninth Annual International Forum.
Officials feel someone may have “bagged†the wallaby since the strange little marsupial is missing from his cage. As part of the forum saluting Australia and New Zealand, the wallaby has been displayed in a cage in front of the Student Union since Monday. He was missing yesterday morning when Student Union director Bill Varney went out to check on him, and since then the campus police have been combing the area.
“He may have escaped by himself,†said forum chairman Richard Orr, “but it looks like somebody pried open the fence. He can survive in this climate and eats grass and leaves so he’ll probably make it on his own.â€
The grey, 14-inch-high critter is on loan from the Randolph Park Zoo, and they’d certainly like him back.
If you spot “Willy†hopping around town (and he shouldn’t be hard to miss), the forum officials suggest you call the zoo.
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No word was found in the archives as to whether Willy was found or not. We can only hope.
A note: Wallabies are not kangaroos. They belong to the same taxonomic family and are marsupials, but the term "wallaby" is an informal designation.
Johanna Eubank is an online content producer for the ÃÛÌÒÓ°ÏñAV and . Contact her at jeubank@tucson.com
About Tales from the Morgue: The "morgue," is what those in the newspaper business call the archives. Before digital archives, the morgue was a room full of clippings and other files of old newspapers.
Johanna Eubank
Online producer
